NCAA insider: Illini coach matchups unintentional

Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone says it's a media story

There has been speculation that the NCAA selection committee this year intentionally pitted Bruce Weber and Illinois against former Illini coaches Lon Kruger and, possibly, Bill Self.

But Jon LeCrone, Horizon League commissioner and former member of NCAA men's basketball selection committee, said that's unlikely.

"I know the media thinks we look at storylines like who the coaches are but I can assure you that it never happened while I was on the committee," he told us on WGN-AM 720. "We don't pay any attention to any of that stuff. We simply seed the teams according to the formulas and rules that we follow strictly. The thought that we do is all media driven."

Word on the street: Bulls forward Carlos Boozer will be one of the featured athletes in "Celebrity Sweat," a reality workout series offered on DVD. The series also includes singers such as Nelly. We hear the concept met the approval of Michelle Obama, who has been promoting the fight against childhood obesity.

Overheard:John Salley on the tradition of NHL teams shaking hands at the end of a playoff series: "That's a bunch of bull and if I had a team and I had to do that, it wouldn't happen. I'd go by and shake their coaches' hands and that's it."